Latest Articles

George Will thinks that high-speed rail is really a tool to control your mind

Mind control machine.Photo: Sylvain LatoucheHave you been thinking there’s something fishy about the Obama administration’s insistence that high-speed rail is part of America’s transportation future? Why is it that the president keeps pushing forward with expensive plans to link the country’s major urban centers with these train things, even as Republican governors shovel back the […]

Take action: phase out fossil fuels at the World Bank

The Sierra Club is joining activists from around the world to call on the World Bank to free us from fossil fuels and the landscapes of extraction, hidden conflict, and increasingly frequent natural disasters associated with their consumption. Today, we join our international colleagues in a day of action that will flood the World Bank’s […]

Climate change and the Southwest water crisis: making a bad situation worse

Drought denial’s tougher to pull off than climate denial.Photo: Luke RobinsonWhere and how will climate change first affect large numbers of American voters? Answering that question may be crucial to the global efforts to protect the Earth’s climate. The tsunami of stupidity and science denial that has washed over Washington, D.C., won’t be held back […]

Glenn Beck says 350.org is part of a communist plot

Say this for Glenn Beck: He works fast. Less than 48 hours after we at 350.org launched our campaign to let businesses say that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce doesn’t represent them, Beck hit back. A true friend of Chamber (here’s a picture of him broadcasting from the group’s roof — certainly worth the $10,000 […]

Rooftop garden porn to get you through winter

Winter’s relentless grip will give way, we promise. Come summer, even those of us deeply ensconced within a concrete jungle will kick it in under the shade of glorious greenery. You need a little of that right now, don’t you? Step in, sit down, and take in the warm air of these rooftop oases.   Photo: […]

Big Oil gains from higher prices while families pay the price

Cross-posted from the Center for American Progress. This post was coauthored by Valeri Vasquez, special assistant for energy policy at the Center for American Progress. Political instability in the Middle East over the past month has driven parallel unrest in world oil prices. The drive for political freedom in the Middle East has rightfully captured […]

“Why Nukes are [not] the Most Urgent Environmental Threat”

Environmentalists: Wake up! There is a greater and more urgent threat to the climate than even global warming: the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Uhh, no. As someone who spent a lot of time working on issues related to the threat posed by nuclear weapons — I was actually a Congressional science fellow two decades […]

Climate activist Tim DeChristopher goes to trial in Salt Lake City [VIDEO]

Climate activist Tim DeChristopher’s trial began Monday in Salt Lake City, Utah. He spoke with Grist recently about facing jail time, his fears, and how to make a difference through nonviolent direct action. Here’s the exclusive video interview: Monday morning, Terry Tempest Williams, Daryl Hannah, and other allies rallied to show their support. Peter Yarrow […]

Now on Facebook: your grandma, mailman, and … the solar industry

You just got poked by the sun.Photo: diogo dubiellaYou have a new friend request … from the sun! OK, it’s actually from a company selling solar panels. “Solar service providers … are increasingly turning to social media tactics in an attempt to create engaged communities around the sunny clean power,” says Earth2Tech. Solar startups are […]

Pittsburgh’s drinking water is radioactive, thanks to fracking. Only question is, how much?

The drinking water of tens of millions of Pennsylvanians is threatened by natural-gas fracking — including the 2.3 million who live in Pittsburgh.Photo: Via Tsuji Residents of Pittsburgh — as well as potentially tens of millions of other everyday citizens in the Northeast corridor who rely on their taps to deliver safe water — are […]